Texans DE JJ Watt Named AFC Defensive Player of the Month

October 4, 2012 at 11:38 am

Houston Texans DE J.J. Watt was named the AFC Defensive Player of the Month after leading the NFL in sacks and helping the Texans to a 4-0 record in September. Watt is the third Texan to win defensive player of the month honors in franchise history.

Watt leads Houston’s top-ranked defense with 7.5 sacks, 10 quarterback hits, five passes defensed and two fumble recoveries. He has helped the Texans defense hold opponents to League-lows of 273.0 yards per game and 14.0 points per game. He has accounted for more than half of Houston’s 13 sacks in September and became the first Texans player to record more than one sack in four consecutive games.

Watt opened the season with 1.5 sacks and tied a career high with three passes defensed, including two that led to interceptions, against Miami. He was named AFC Defensive Player of the Week after tallying 1.5 sacks for 11 yards, a fumble recovery and two passes defensed in Week 2 at Jacksonville. Watt followed that performance with 2.5 sacks for 11.5 yards and four tackles for loss in Week 3 at Denver. Watt continued his stellar play against Tennessee in Week 4 with 2.0 sacks for 17 yards, three tackles for loss and a fumble recovery.

The 6-5, 295-pound second-year player leads all AFC defensive linemen with nine passes defensed since he came to the NFL. He ranks second on the team with 32 total tackles this season.

Watt is the sixth player in franchise history to win a player of the month award. Former Texans S Marcus Coleman was named AFC Defensive Player of the Month in September of 2003 and OLB Connor Barwin was named AFC Defensive Player of the Month in November of 2011.